Petit Oiseau
by KingofJesters
Summary: Set years before the film. Thomas and Lucie Lamont meet Quasimodo and the three children become fast friends. However, when tragedy strikes will the children be able to cope with the loss?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This story randomly came to mind one day, as there is a severe lack of Quasimodo stories on this site. It's almost an AU, as it takes place many years before the film, and a little after. I decided not to include the gargoyles in this story, as I found them a little bit annoying during the movie, and I just didn't want to attempt to write for them. As a result, no gargoyles, sorry! Oh, and the title means "Little Bird" which will make sense much later, I promise! So, enjoy the story, and please give me as many critiques as you can, I'm trying to improve my writing : )_

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame._

**Petit** **Oiseau**

Chapter One

Thomas knew that Lucie's health was fragile. He knew that the dark grey clouds hanging over the city spelled rain. Yet, he decided to take his sister to play in the square anyway. They played tag, the usual sort of game that a twelve year old and a six year old could play together easily. Weaving in and out of the various people in the square, the siblings tried to tag each other, occasionally having to stop to let Lucie catch her breath before continuing their game.

Lucie was small for her age, with thin, straight brown hair and a pale complexion. She was born prematurely, Thomas once heard someone say. She wasn't technically meant to live. Yet she did, and was full of life and as active as a normal six year old girl, even if she had to stop to rest from time to time.

Thomas doted on her. Completely wrapped around her little finger, she could get him to do almost anything for her. He didn't mind; he was just happy to have a little sister after waiting so long. He usually kept an eye on her when their Maman was shopping in the market, or when their Papa was working on his shoes in his shop. The siblings played together in the square when the weather was nice and at home when it wasn't.

Today was no exception. Thomas and Lucie, despite the threat of rain, went outside to the square at the base of Notre Dame to play their usual game of tag. But Lucie seemed tired earlier than usual, so Thomas was about to take her home, when it began to rain. Then pour.

Thomas glanced over at Lucie in concern and saw, to his dismay that she was already shivering. Knowing that they wouldn't get home before they were both soaked to the skin, and knowing how dangerous that was for Lucie, he decided to take her into Notre Dame, where at least she'd be warm and dry.

"Come on _petit_ _oiseau_," he said, taking his sister's hand. "Let's get you inside."

Thomas led his sister quickly up the steps of Notre Dame and into the cathedral, shutting the door behind them. They were greeted with the still quiet of the great cathedral, with only the murmured prayers and patter of rain to disturb it.

Lucie wiggled nervously. "Tommy," she whispered. "Are we supposed to be in here?"

Thomas nodded solemnly. "Yes, just until the rain stops," he whispered back. "But while we're in here, we'll need to be very quiet."

The children found a corner to sit in and sat there for a while, listening to the rain. But six year olds are hard to keep still, and Lucie started fidgeting and wanting desperately to do something.

"Tommy," she whispered. Her brother looked at her questioningly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Can we play a game?" begged Lucie. "A real quiet one, so we won't bother anybody?"

Thomas smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

Lucie grinned from ear to ear and stood up. "Hide and go seek! You're it!" And without further ado, she ran to go find a hiding place.

"No-Lucie!" Thomas whispered fiercely, but it was no use. In mere moments, she had rounded a corner and was out of sight.

Thomas sighed through his nose at his sister's childish nature and went to go fetch her before she caused trouble.

!i!i!

Lucie scampered through the cathedral, trying to make as little noise as possible while still finding a decent hiding place. After searching for any hidden corners that would be practical for her hiding place, and finding none, she finally sat down in frustration. It was only then that she spied a wooden door, left slightly ajar, with stairs going upwards. She smiled to herself. _Tommy will never find me there! _She thought.

She climbed up and up the winding staircase, not noticing that she had left her cloak abandoned on the stairs.

!i!i!

Quasimodo looked over his new figure he had just finished painting. It was a tiny little miniature of him, and he already hated it. Of course, he was proud of himself for making it at all, but he didn't like how strange it looked. The little carving looked like a mistake, but he guessed it was only fitting, since that's what he was too. This is why he was kept up in a tower, like his master was constantly reminding him.

He had just turned thirteen, and his master was willing enough to let him try carving. He had seen someone doing it down in the square once, and he had always longed to try it for himself. His master wouldn't allow it at first; the knife was too big for him, and there really was no point at all, he would say. But Quasimodo begged nearly every day, and eventually his master had given in and had given him the knife and several small blocks of wood. It took nearly three days and every ounce of Quasimodo's concentration before this, his first, carving was finished and painted. And now here it was.

Suddenly, he heard a noise that sounded like footsteps coming up the stairs towards the bell tower. Quasimodo panicked, but tried to force himself to stay calm. He hadn't done anything wrong, Frollo couldn't possibly be angry, yet. He just had to wait for his master to come in and give him his dinner.

Then he heard the sneeze. And it _definitely_ didn't come from Frollo. It was too little, and too cute.

"Hello?" said a little girl's voice. "Is anybody there?"

Quasimodo froze. _There_ _was_ _someone_ _in_ _the_ _tower_. Quickly, he ran for cover, leaving his carving on the table. Just in time too; just as Quasimodo hid himself behind a post, a little girl cautiously made her way up the stairs to his loft. Her eyes widened as she saw the table with the little carving on it, and she promptly made her way over to it. Picking it up, she looked it over, an expression of interest on her little face.

Quasimodo watched the little girl inspect his carving with mixed emotions of fear and curiosity. He had never seen another child up close before. Subconsciously, he drew closer, but froze when the floor beneath him creaked.

The little girl turned around, still holding the carving. "Hello?" she asked. Quasimodo breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that she still couldn't see him. "Is anyone there?"

"Y-yes," said Quasimodo. "But you shouldn't be up here."

"Why?" asked the little girl, looking all over for the mysterious voice. "Where are you?"

Quasimodo was bemused. No one had ever asked _why_ before. Yet, no one had actually been up here before, except for Frollo. "B-because," he said. "No one's supposed to come up here."

"You're up here," the little girl pointed out. "Why can't other people be too?"

"I-I live here," said Quasimodo. "O-other people don't."

"What's your name?" asked the little girl. Once again, Quasimodo was confused at the sudden question. "My name is Lucie Marie Lamont, but you can call me Lucie."

"Q-Quasimodo," whispered Quasimodo, afraid of what this strange child would think of his hideous name.

Lucie frowned, and Quasimodo's heart sunk. But she simply said, "That's a really long name. Do you have a shorter one?"

"N-no," said Quasimodo. "I'm just Quasimodo."

"Alright, Quasitoto," said Lucie, unable to properly pronounce his name. "Where are you hiding?" She smiled and began looking under things to see if she could spot him.

Quasimodo drew deeper into the shadows of the bell tower. He didn't want to frighten the sweet little girl, but she was very persistent.

Finally, after trying to find the mysterious person, and not succeeding, Lucie sat down and scrunched up her face. She knew that if she threatened to cry, then Thomas would do whatever she wanted. Maybe it would work on the mysterious person too.

Sure enough, once Quasimodo realized that Lucie was about to cry, he immediately began a silent debate with himself. Should he go out and keep the child from crying, or should he still continue to hide?

Fortunately, he was spared the choice has he heard another voice calling, "Lucie?"

!i!i!

Thomas was panicking, all thoughts of the game forgotten. Lucie had run out of sight so quickly that he had little to no preparation. _If_ _anything_ _happens_ _to_ _her_ _I'll_ _never_ _forgive_ _myself!_ He thought desperately.

He searched the cathedral frantically for several minutes before he spotted her cloak lying on a secluded staircase hidden behind a door. He breathed a sigh of relief; knowing his sister she had probably been curious about where the steps went and had simply gone up them. Thomas peered up the dark staircase, curious himself. He started to ascend them, wondering what sort of trouble Lucie could have gotten herself into in such a short amount of time.

As he got to the top, he began calling Lucie's name, hoping beyond hope that she was there. "Lucie?" he called again and again. It was only when he reached the inside of the bell tower that he got a response.

"Tommy!" cried a small voice from up above. Thomas looked up and saw his sister looking at him from above on a loft type thing, clutching something in her hands. He ran to her.

"Lucie, don't you ever, _ever_ run away from me like that again!" scolded Thomas, overjoyed to see that his sister wasn't hurt or crying.

"Tommy, there's someone up here too!" exclaimed Lucie excitedly. "His name is Quasitoto, and he lives up here!"

Thomas looked at his sister in amusement. "Really now? And what does your friend look like?"

Lucie frowned. "I don't know, he won't come out!" She turned around and began shouting into the bell tower. "Quasitoto! Quasitoto! Please come out! This is my brother and he's awfully nice! Quasitoto!"

Thomas peered into the shadows of the tower, but all he could make out were shapes of statues and beams. Suddenly, he saw movement and instinctively dove after it. "Gotcha!" He had grabbed a hold of someone and started trying to pull them into the light. The "someone" he had grabbed was fighting, but not too hard; reflecting on the incident, Thomas was certain that the stranger was holding back on him, as if he was trying not to hurt him, but he was never completely certain.

As soon as Thomas had gotten the "someone" into the light, the "someone" cowered on the ground, covering his face with his hands. Thomas could see that it was a boy, not much older than himself, with bright red hair and a hump on his back. His face was obscured by his humongous hands, but he could tell that he was disfigured. He reeled back in shock, but Lucie drew closer.

"Quasitoto?" she asked. When the boy didn't move, she moved even closer, so that she was standing directly in front of him. "Hello?" She waved her small hands in front of the boy's face.

"Lucie!" whispered Thomas, suddenly worried for his sister's safety once more. "Come here!"

"It's alright Tommy!" shouted Lucie. "Quasitoto's nice!"

The boy suddenly looked up, shocked, giving Lucie and Thomas a full view of his face. He was very strangely put together, with his nose turned upwards and a strange bulge over his left eye. He really was a fright to look at up close. But Lucie seemed unfazed by all of that. She held out the small carving towards the boy.

"Is this you?" she asked bluntly. "It looks like you."

The boy slowly nodded, taking the carving from the little girl. "Y-yes," he whispered. "I m-made it, myself."

Lucie smiled at the boy, making him look at her in wonder, before going and grabbing Thomas' hand and leading him forward. "This is Tommy, my big brother. He's nice too."

The two boys looked at each other apprehensively. Thomas wasn't sure what to do; should he take his sister and run, or stay and be nice to the strange disfigured boy?

He decided to be nice, for his sister's sake.

And because he was frightfully curious, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Thomas reached out his hand towards the boy. The boy cringed, but took it, and Thomas helped him get to his feet. The boy stood awkwardly because of his hump, yet he and Thomas could still see eye to eye, if the boy would ever look at him. Thomas smiled at him, trying to break the ice.

"Hello," he said, holding out his hand again. "My name is Thomas Lamont. This is my sister, Lucie, whom you've already met. And your name is..?"

The boy stared at Thomas' outstretched hand, confused. Lucie smiled, and took his hand, bringing it to Thomas'. "You shake it silly," she giggled. "That way you can know each other better."

The boy grasped Thomas' hand cautiously, and Thomas shook it up and down. "See?" he said. "It's not so bad. Now, your name is..?"

"Quasimodo," said the boy, looking delighted and scared to be shaking someone's hand. Thomas wondered briefly if he had never done so before.

"Quasimodo, huh?" said Thomas, glancing at his sister. "You sure it's not _Quasitoto_?"

Quasimodo looked confused, and briefly glanced up at Thomas before ducking again. "No, I'm pretty sure-"

Thomas chuckled. "I'm only teasing ya." He nudged his sister. "She has a bad habit of mispronouncing things, and I usually have to correct her every time."

Lucie giggled, suddenly shy. Thomas shuffled his feet. "So, do you live up here?"

Quasimodo nodded. "O-oh, yes, I do. I've lived up here my w-whole life."

"Do you ever go outside?" asked Lucie, suddenly not shy anymore. Quasimodo looked at her strangely before looking away again.

"N-no, never."

Thomas gaped at the strange boy. _He_ _isn't_ _much_ _older_ _than I am, and he's never ever gone outside?_ Thought Thomas disbelievingly. _I'd go mad._

There was a long pause. Thomas began shuffling his feet again, and Quasimodo turned the little carving over and over in his hands. Lucie just stared at the two of them, until she finally had enough and grabbed Quasimodo's hand.

"Quasitoto?" she asked. Quasimodo looked bemused and a little frightened, but he answered anyway.

"Y-yes?"

"Will you take me to see the bells someday?" she asked, smiling up at him. Quasimodo nodded, too bewildered to speak.

Thomas suddenly noticed that it wasn't raining anymore, as he couldn't hear the patter on the roof. "Oh, Lucie, we need to get home. The rain stopped, and Maman is probably worried sick about us."

Lucie frowned, but Thomas cut her off with a glare that said, _No 'buts' young lady._ Lucie let go of Quasimodo's hand, and gave him a fleeting hug. "Goodbye, Quasitoto," she said. Thomas smiled at his sister, then put her cloak on. After it was secured around her shoulders, and she was sent in the direction of the stairs, Thomas turned to Quasimodo.

"It was nice to meet you," he said cordially. "Even if it only was for a few minutes."

Quasimodo nodded, his heart sinking again. _They're not coming back, are they?_ But then Thomas surprised him by saying,

"We'll try and come back tomorrow, but no guarantees," said Thomas, smiling. "It all depends on my Maman and whether she'll let us go the square or not." Thomas held out his hand again.

Quasimodo nodded and took Thomas' small hand in his own large one. "I-I look forward to it."

Thomas smiled again, and turned towards the stairs where his sister was waiting. "Goodbye Quasimodo!"

!i!i!

They soon disappeared down the steps and out into the cathedral below. Quasimodo hurried to the ledge and looked out, trying to get a glimpse of the children leaving the cathedral. He saw them, and he thought he saw Lucie glance up towards the tower, but he couldn't be sure. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned and went back inside. Placing his little carving on the table, he took out another piece of wood and began carving, unable to keep the smile that was slowly spreading across his face.

!i!i!

As soon as the children got downstairs, Thomas pulled Lucie aside. "Lucie, we can't tell anybody about Quasimodo, alright?"

Lucie cocked her head. "Why not?"

"Because," began Thomas. "He's different. What if someone wanted to hurt him because of that? And it'd be our fault. We have to protect him, meaning that we can't tell Maman or Papa about him, alright?"

"I promise," nodded Lucie solemnly.

Thomas eyed her skeptically. "Cross your heart?"

Lucie nodded once more, and Thomas chuckled, tousling her hair. "That's my _petit_ _oiseau_."

The children left the cathedral, their cloaks pulled tight around them to keep out the chilly breeze. Lucie glanced up at the bell tower but didn't see anyone, so both the children continued home to their worried Maman and a warm supper.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: It's a slightly shorter chapter this week, and it's set two weeks later. Yeah._

_Also, thank you Imaginative Light for being the ONLY person to review my story. I don't want to whine, but I know people are reading this story, but there's only one review. It makes me sad. :( So, please read and review! _

Chapter Two

Quasimodo was nearly done with his newest carving. He had been working periodically on it over the course of the last two weeks; a carving of Thomas and Lucie holding hands. He had to watch them carefully in order to get their facial expressions just right, and now they were nearly perfect. All he had left to do was paint them.

There was a tap at the door. A faint one, but Quasimodo could still hear it in the silence of his tower. Quickly hiding the carving, he hurried to answer it, careful not to sound too excited. He didn't want his new friends to think of him being desperate for attention, oh no, it wasn't anything like that. He was just glad of the company. Company that didn't seem like they'd rather be anywhere else but with him, like his master.

The three children had become fast friends, after the essential awkwardness wore off. Lucie saw to that, with her questions and blatant comments about Quasimodo and the bell tower. Thomas and Quasimodo were still slowly warming up to each other, yet there was no malice between them. Neither of them quite knew what to make of the other, and so many awkward conversations had followed. However, those conversations were becoming few and far between, which made Lucie happy beyond belief.

Quasimodo went to answer the door and saw, to his relief, that both Thomas and Lucie were there. He still had this unshakeable fear that one day they wouldn't come back. But, according to Lucie, that would never happen.

"Quasi!" cried the little girl, running to the boy and throwing her arms around him. Quasi smiled at this gesture and gently hugged her back. Thomas watched the two and noticed, not for the first time, how gentle Quasi was with his sister. He almost looked like he didn't want to break her, as if she would if he held on too hard.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on the stairs could be heard, and Quasi's head snapped up. He paled. Thomas was concerned. "What's wrong? Quasi…?"

"You have to leave, right now," said Quasi, his voice determined. "Go! Down the back stairs, and hurry!" He thrust Lucie towards Thomas and steered both of the children towards the back stairs.

"But-Quasi!" cried Lucie. Quasi shook his head.

"I'll explain later, but right now you have to go! Please!" he pleaded, turning to Thomas. "Just go!"

Thomas looked at Quasi and saw how frightened he was. Then he heard the deep voice calling, "Quasimodo? Boy, come here!" and understood. He turned to his sister.

"Lucie, Quasi has someone coming, and we're not supposed to be up here right now," he whispered to his sister. Lucie, who had also heard the voice, nodded in understanding. Both of the children ran down the back stairs, careful not to make too much noise. As soon as they reached the lower levels that led back into the cathedral, Thomas took Lucie to a pew to wait for someone, he didn't know who, to come out of the door that led upstairs so that they could go back.

Thomas knew that Quasimodo had a master, a man who had taken him in and raised him in the bell tower. He wasn't sure who it was, but he knew by the way that Quasi talked about him, that he wasn't good.

They waited for nearly an hour before Thomas spotted a man leaving the staircase that led up to the bell tower, wearing black robes and carrying a basket. He gasped in recognition and remembrance of a story his father had told him not too long ago. About how the Minister of Justice came to his shop requesting shoes for his disfigured ward…

Suddenly he felt a tug on his sleeve. "Tommy," Lucie whispered. "Can we go up now? That scary man left, I saw him."

Thomas looked down at his sister. "Yes we can go up," he whispered back. "We'll just have to be more careful from now on. We don't _ever_ want to get caught by him."

!i!i!

Quasimodo breathed easy as soon as his master left. Poor Quasi felt so nervous the entire time Frollo was there, and he was certain that Frollo would notice and demand to know what was bothering him. But Frollo didn't say anything; he seemed too preoccupied with some other problem to pay attention to Quasimodo today. _If only he'd be that way every day,_ thought Quasimodo.

"Quasi?" called a little voice. Quasi turned and saw Lucie and Thomas looking at him with concern. "Are you all right?"

Quasi nodded. "Yes."

"What did he want?" asked Thomas, feeling very concerned for his new friend. "He didn't hurt you, or anything?"

Quasimodo shook his head quickly. "No, no, he would never do anything like that! He just yells, a lot," he finished weakly. "But, he was pretty busy today, so he didn't pay much attention to me."

Lucie ran and hugged Quasimodo again. "He's scary," she whispered. "He came to our Papa's shop once, and he didn't like me at all."

Quasimodo looked at Thomas questioningly, and Thomas explained. "A few years ago, Judge Frollo came to our Papa's shop (he makes shoes for a living) and requested a strange pair of shoes for, erm-" Thomas stopped, debating about his choice of words, "for his ward. And Papa said he would make them. I don't know how Lucie remembers, she was only three or four at the time. But I remember that the Judge saw me, and gave me this glare-" He stopped, not wanting to make Quasi think that his master scared him out of his wits.

But Quasimodo understood. He himself was terrified of his master, and was not surprised that Thomas was as well. You'd have to be a very brave man to feel no fear whatsoever when the Judge glared at you.

He tried to lessen the tension that could be felt all around the children at their discovery of who his master actually was. He clasped his hands, and changed the subject.

"Well, let's not think about my master," said Quasimodo. He motioned for the siblings to come to his work table. "I have something that I wish to show you two."

Lucie squealed in delight when the carving was revealed, even though Quasimodo kept apologizing that it wasn't quite finished yet. Thomas, on the other hand, looked over the carving with a look of awe on his face.

"Do you think you could teach me?" he asked. Quasimodo looked thoughtful.

"I-I suppose," he said, and Thomas could almost see him thinking about how to start. "I've never really taught anybody before."

"Oh, Quasi," said Thomas. "I would have thought that you would have had an abundance of students!" Quasi looked confused, but then realized that Thomas was joking. He chuckled a bit.

"Yes, I'm definitely the type of person everyone would want to have teaching them something." He smiled half-heartedly. Thomas smiled a small smile back.

"Quasi," he said, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "There's no one else I'd rather have to teach me anything."

Quasimodo looked at Thomas with gratitude, and replied, "W-well, I suppose I could teach you then."

Thomas grinned at his friend. "Great!" The two boys then smiled at each other in silence, each appreciating the other. But only for a moment.

Lucie, who had been playing with the carvings while the boys were talking suddenly cried out, "Quasi! I think I broke it!"

The two boys hurried over to check the damage, and it was as if the tender moment between them had never happened.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Just want to give a shout out to Imaginative Light and whiteflower122 for reviewing my story! It makes me happy :) _

_This is an incredibly short chapter, I know. And a cliffy. Yes, I realize that it's really annoying, but I couldn't help it. :) _

_Also, Frollo is in this chapter, the only one he will actually physically be in for this whole story (sorry Frollo fans). I tried to get his character right, but it kind of threw me through a loop trying to turn the dialogue into something believable. I don't know if I quite pulled it off to my liking, but we'll see. Enjoy! _

Chapter Three

_Three_ _months_ _later_

Thomas was a fast learner, that much was certain. With only a few weeks of lessons from Quasimodo, he was already beginning to carve miniatures of animals, much to Lucie's delight. While the boys carved, she would play with the carvings on the floor of the bell tower, and would become very much engaged in her games.

The children hadn't had any more close calls with Judge Frollo, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. Once when the children came to visit, Quasimodo was quickly trying, without success, to stop crying. Although he wasn't hurt and he never spoke of the matter again, the children knew that his master was an evil man, who told their friend many bad things, many of which weren't true.

But they never found out what those things were until one fateful day.

Thomas and Quasimodo were carving again, leaving Lucie largely unsupervised. Although Thomas gave her strict orders not to wander out of sight, she soon learned that the boys didn't pay that close attention, letting her wander about the tower at will.

Lucie was in the middle a game concerning Thomas, Quasi, and herself attempting to rescue a helpless little lamb. She was so involved in her game, that she didn't hear the faint footsteps coming up the stairs, nor the voice that called, "Quasimodo?" until it was too late.

She soon found herself staring up at the terrible Judge Frollo himself, and he did _not _look pleased.

Lucie shrieked, causing the two boys to jump up, scattering their supplies everywhere. "Lucie!" cried Thomas, dashing towards the sound of the shriek. This caused him to run into the Judge, holding Lucie, and staring at the three children with a look of contempt.

"And what, pray tell, is the meaning of this, boy?" he asked, directing his question to Quasimodo.

Quasimodo cowered, and Thomas was overwhelmed with pity for his friend. "M-master," he murmured. "I didn't think you'd be coming today."

Frollo smiled, and Thomas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "My dear boy," he said, his voice almost dripping with faux sweetness. "I am never too busy to visit you, you know that. Now," his nostrils flared, "introduce me to your _friends_."

Quasimodo tried to draw himself up, not daring to look anyone in the eye. "This is Thomas and Lucie Lamont. Their father is a shoemaker."

A look of recognition dawned on Frollo's face. "Ah yes, the shoemaker. Tell me, are you learning your father's trade, boy?" He asked, his question directed at Thomas. Thomas nodded, too afraid to speak. Many times he had thought about how he would finally meet the Judge face to face, but all of the scenarios involved him being much older and outspoken, not young and tongue-tied.

Frollo nodded. "Then, tell me this; why are you up here frittering away your time instead of tending to your duties?"

Thomas swallowed. "I had no duties today, sir," he whispered. "I'm supposed to be w-watching my sister." He vaguely gestured in Lucie's direction. Lucie was still in Frollo's grasp, and she whimpered. Quasimodo looked miserable, wishing with all his heart that this wasn't happening, and that he was somehow able to help his friends.

After a long pause, Frollo released Lucie, who immediately ran to Thomas' embrace. Then he spat, "I wish to speak to you children, _alone_." He turned and glared at Quasimodo, who immediately and with a remorseful look at Thomas and Lucie, went into the other room, closing the door behind him.

"Tell me," he began. "Did your parents educate you?"

Thomas nodded and held Lucie a bit tighter. Frollo continued. "Then, why do you insist on visiting Quasimodo? Don't you realize that he is a monster, a demon, and that you should fear him instead of visit him every day?"

Thomas shook his head, and Frollo glared. "Why do you insist on defying me?" He leaned over and looked Thomas full in the face. Thomas shuddered and smelled Frollo's horrible breath when he whispered, "I want you to take your sister and leave this bell tower. Never come here again, or I will personally lock you away and make sure that you and your sister are never found. Understand?"

Thomas nodded, terrified. Lucie whimpered again, and Frollo smiled. "Get out."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Once again, another short-ish chapter. But everything is somewhat resolved in this one, so it's ok, right? _

_Almost forgot! A loud shout out to sheep1215 and whiteflower122 for their reviews! It's always a pleasure. _

_Anyways, I put the Archdeacon into this chapter, and I'm not sure if I got his character right either. I wanted him to be an ally for Thomas, but I'm not sure if I did it quite right. Oh well, leave a review and let me know how I did! :) _

Chapter Four

_One month later_

"Tommy?" whispered Lucie. "Are you awake?" The children were at home, in their beds, and were supposed to be asleep. However, Lucie was having trouble. She was really worried about Quasi, even though it had been over a month since she last saw him. Unknown to her was that Thomas was thinking the same thing. He felt incredibly guilty about the whole matter, and was still angry, mostly at himself, for not standing up for Quasimodo against the Judge.

"No," he whispered back. "What's the matter?"

"When can we visit Quasi again?" she asked. Thomas smiled to himself, then frowned. What if they got caught?

"I don't know, my _petit_ _oiseau_," he said.

"Can we go tomorrow?"

Thomas lay there in silence, looking up at the slanted roof in the attic room that he and Lucie shared. He didn't want to get caught by Frollo again, but he felt terribly guilty about leaving Quasi alone without him knowing what had happened to them. Who knows what Frollo told him about why they had left? For all he knew, he might have said that they had _wanted_ to leave.

"No," he said. "I mean, you shouldn't go. What if Frollo catches us again?"

"But Quasi probably misses us!" protested Lucie, sitting up in bed.

"Shh!" Thomas glanced at the trapdoor, but there was no sound coming from below. "Look, Lucie, I-I think I should go alone and talk to Quasi, alright? Then you and Maman and Papa won't get in trouble, only I will." Lucie seemed satisfied with that answer; Thomas could hear her settling back into her bed sheets.

"And if you don't get caught, _then_ can I go with you?"

Thomas smiled in the dark. "Of course my _petit oiseau_."

At least, he hoped so.

!i!i!

Thomas felt terrified just walking into Notre Dame, although he was too proud to ever admit it. He half expected Frollo to jump out from some random corner and lock him away, and was glad he didn't bring his _petit_ _oiseau_ with him.

"He is not here, child," spoke a kindly voice from behind him. Thomas whirled around and found himself face to face with the archdeacon, whom he had never really spoken to but knew was well-known for his kindness.

"Excuse me, sir?" asked Thomas.

"Judge Frollo," answered the archdeacon. "He had important business to attend to today, and was not able to come."

"H-how did you…?" stammered Thomas. The archdeacon smiled.

"I've seen you and your sister come to the church to visit the bell tower," he answered simply, careful in his choice of words. "Although not as much recently; am I correct in assuming that Frollo discovered you?"

"Yes sir," murmured Thomas. The archdeacon frowned.

"I thought as much," he murmured. Then he smiled at Thomas again. "You may go up to the bell tower, I'm sure that your friend has been missing you."

Thomas grinned as he scampered off towards the stairs. "Thank you, sir!"

!i!i!

Quasimodo sat at his table, lost in thought. His chores finished, he had nothing that he really wanted to do save work on his carvings, and he hadn't felt like doing that for some time now. Not since Thomas and Lucie had left.

When Frollo had told him that Thomas and Lucie were only visiting him to make fun of him, he didn't believe it_. 'Thomas and Lucie are my friends!'_ he protested, the first time he had done so since he was very little. _'They would never-'_

'_They are children of the outside world,' _Frollo explained coldly. '_All they know is hate and fear and mockery; they are evil children and will never understand you. And you thought they were your friends? I am your only friend Quasimodo, never forget that.'_

In the end, Quasi had given in. _'Yes master.'_

Quasimodo had never felt more alone. Thomas and Lucie never came back, even though Lucie had promised that they would _always_ come back. He supposed he should have expected it. No one in their right mind would want to be friends with him, deformed as he was. Perhaps they _were_ only there to make fun of him-

"Quasi?" a voice called. "Are you up there?"

Quasimodo looked up from his worktable. "Thomas?" he asked. "Is that you?"

Thomas heard Quasi's voice from up on his loft and quickly clamored up to see his friend. He was once again struck with Quasi's frightful appearance after not seeing it for nearly a month, but he was able to quickly stifle the initial shock.

"Yeah, it's me," said Thomas, slightly panting from his long climb up to the bell tower.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Thomas took a deep breath. "I-I came to apologize. For not coming sooner. I was…scared."

Quasimodo looked at Thomas suspiciously. "Scared of what?"

"Frollo," replied Thomas. "He threatened to lock me and Lucie in the Palace of Justice if we ever came here again! That's why she's not here." Thomas sighed. "I didn't want her to get in trouble if…if I got caught."

Quasimodo was silent, thinking about this new development. Had Frollo lied to him about the children? No, Frollo would never lie to him, he had never lied before. Perhaps he had just misjudged the children, and that's why he had told him all those things.

"Will you forgive us, Quasi?" asked Thomas, breaking Quasi's train of thought. "Lucie really misses you, if that makes you feel any better. You're all she can talk about, and it confuses my Maman to no end."

"Why?" asked Quasimodo.

"Oh," said Thomas. "Well, er, she doesn't know we come to visit you. We didn't want to get you in trouble, or anything." He shrugged. "Guess that's out the window now, with us being caught and all." Thomas was suddenly struck with a frightening thought. "Quasi, Frollo didn't _hurt_ you or anything because of us, did he?"

Quasimodo quickly shook his head. "Oh no! He was angry of course, but he would never actually _hurt_ me."

Thomas looked relieved. "Good." He held out his hand, just like that first day when the two boys had met. "So, do you accept my apology? I promise that I'll try to never leave you alone like that again."

Quasi looked at the boys' out-stretched hand. He wasn't sure if he trusted Thomas to actually keep that promise, but he knew in his heart that the apology was sincere. So he took his hand, and they shook on it, both of them hoping to never have to do this type of thing again.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: FILLER! Yeah, sorry, this is a filler chapter with nothing immensely important. I hope you enjoy it anyways! And please ignore all historical errors, I know nothing. _

_Shout out to Imaginative Light and whiteflower122 for reviewing! It's always a pleasure to hear from people who actually like what I'm doing._

_Also, this is the part of the story where there is a major shift in time. So, just clear things up; Lucie is nine, Thomas is fifteen, and Quasi is sixteen. Yeah. Enjoy! _

Chapter Five

_Three_ _years_ _later_

"Slow down, _petit_ _oiseau_!" cried Thomas, struggling to keep up with his little sister. She was rushing far ahead of her brother, excited to go visit Quasimodo. She was now nine years old, and the picture of health. Except for the occasional coughing fit, she was now much stronger and could run long distances much better than when she was younger. Thomas now found himself trying to keep up with _her_, instead of the other way around. But he didn't mind; he was just happy to see her happy.

"Slowpoke!" she called back to him. Thomas grinned, and hurried to keep up with her. The square was unusually crowded today, and so the children found themselves having to dodge and weave in between all of the people in order to get to the cathedral. It was Market Day, and there were all sorts of things to look at and lots of good things to eat. Thomas and Lucie were given a franc each by their Papa, and were told that they could spend it on anything they wished. The children were delighted, and immediately made their way over to the candy stalls and bought all sorts of sweets for themselves and for Quasimodo. After spending nearly an hour wandering around and looking at all of the stalls, the children decided to go visit their friend.

Thus the running and dodging.

As soon as the children reached the base of the cathedral they slowed to a respectful walk, not wishing to disturb any of the worshippers inside. They entered the cathedral, and were at once greeted with the majestic silence of the enormous building, with only the muffled footsteps and murmured prayers disturbing it.

As Thomas and Lucie made their way to the stairs, Thomas caught the archdeacon's eye as he silently lit the candles surrounding the walkway. The archdeacon greeted him with a smile; Thomas smiled back and nodded in his direction.

"Do you have the present?" whispered Lucie as they neared the top.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah." There was a pause.

"Do you think he'll like it?"

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Lucie, you know Quasi likes anything we'd give him. He's too nice." That was one thing about Quasi that almost drove Thomas a little crazy; his absolute kindness and overwhelming naivety. Sometimes he wished Quasi would just have a bad day and totally blow his top, just so he knew that Quasi _wasn't_ perfect. But he also knew that Quasi would never do that either; he'd be too afraid that the children would never come back again. Thomas sighed. Even after all these years, Quasi was still afraid that they would abandon him.

As if they would ever do that willingly. He was practically their brother!

As soon as the children reached the door that led into the bell tower, Thomas quickly rapped twice, very softly, on the door. It was simply an extra precaution, just a signal to let Quasi know that they were there and it wasn't someone else.

Sure enough, Quasi quickly went to open the door for his friends. He knew that they were coming today, and he couldn't wait to show them his newest carving; Notre Dame herself. He was quite proud of his construction and was very excited to have people to show it to who actually liked what he had to say.

"Quasi!" cried Lucie as soon as the door was opened. Quasi smiled at her as she bounded into the room, followed closely by her brother. Quasi quickly shut the door, always careful to make sure anybody else, mainly Frollo, wasn't coming. "We brought you something from the market!"

Quasi looked bashful. "You really didn't-"

"Oh shut up, Quasi," said Thomas, playfully nudging him. "You know we can't stand it when you try to turn down gifts. You're always giving us stuff."

"Yeah, like the carvings of that sheep, and the dog, and our Papa, and our Maman, and-" babbled Lucie.

"The point is," said Thomas, cutting off his sister. "We wanted to get something for you, so sit down and take it like a man."

Quasi smiled at his friends' playful banter, and did what he was told.

"You've got to close your eyes and hold out your hands, Quasi!" cried Lucie. "That's what you're supposed to do when you get presents!"

Quasi chuckled and obliged. He could hear Lucie giggling in the background as Thomas (supposedly) took something out from his pocket. He then felt the small parcel as it was placed into his massive hands, but he kept his eyes shut tight.

"Alright," said Thomas. "You can open your eyes now."

Quasi opened them and saw in his hand a tiny little package tied together with twine. Curious, he opened it and saw that it contained two small bits of candy and a small pot of green paint.

"I noticed that you were out," Thomas explained. "And I saw that they were selling paint at the market, so I picked some up. Lucie picked out the candy."

Lucie nodded excitedly. "Those are my favorite kinds too!"

Quasi smiled at his friends, touched that they would think of him when they were outside. If he ever got outside, he didn't think he'd be able to focus in on anything, there'd be so much to look at!

"So," asked Thomas. "Is it alright?"

Quasi nodded. "It's wonderful," he said. "Thank you."

The three friends smiled at each other. Suddenly, Lucie remembered something that she had wanted to tell Quasimodo for some time.

"Oh oh oh!" she exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down in her excitement. "Quasi! I finally lost my tooth!" She smiled real big, enough so that Quasi could see the gap in the bottom half of her teeth.

"That's quite impressive," said Quasi, chuckling. The two boys exchanged looks of amusement over their sister's antics, as Lucie continued to babble on about teeth and candy.

"Quasi," said Thomas, after Lucie had tired of talking to the unresponsive boys and ran off to play by herself. "How're things with, er-"

Quasi quickly picked up on his meaning. "Oh, nothing unusual has happened, lately," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, he's been grumpy more and more. I'm not sure why, he doesn't tell me things like that. But he's very preoccupied whenever he comes."

Thomas nodded. "Hopefully he'll stay like that for a while." He elbowed Quasi gently. "Have you made any more carvings yet?"

"Oh!" Quasi exclaimed. "Yes I have, actually! Come and see; I just finished it this morning."

The children went over to Quasi's table to admire the new building, while the sun shone out over the crowded streets. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

_A/N: I have no idea what kind of candy they had back then, but I'm going to assume for the moment that they had SOME kind of sweets. Just in case you were wondering :P_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! But the school year hasn't quite ended for me and I had SATs and finals are coming and everything is pretty chaotic over at my house :P Also, many of the other chapters had been previously written, so it didn't take long to update. Now, it'll be longer in between because I have to write them! _

_I apologize for the shortness of it as well. I had intended to make it longer, but I like the ending of this much better than if I continued. Aren't cliffy's awesome? :D _

_Anyways, thanks to all who reviewed last time and please enjoy this next chapter! _

Chapter Six

_One week later_

It was raining. Granted, it usually rained in autumn, but Thomas disliked the rain. Especially where his sister was concerned. Although she was much healthier than she had been when she was six, he still worried about her well-being, and avoided the rain as much as possible.

Lucie, on the other hand, absolutely _loved_ the rain! She would go out, when her brother wasn't watching, and play in the rain all the time; dancing and twirling until she was soaked to the skin. Her Maman would yell at her when she tracked mud into the house after one such experience, but other than that Thomas was the only one who became anxious when the rain started up again.

Today was no different. The children were traveling to Notre Dame to see their friend, and Thomas kept snapping at Lucie to pull her cloak tighter, or to pull her hood up, or for goodness stake to stop _splashing_!

When they arrived at the cathedral, they saw, to their dismay, the black carriage that belonged to Judge Frollo. Thomas was all set for going straight back home, but Lucie was determined to stay.

"It's a big church Tommy," she said logically, calling Thomas by his childhood nickname. "We don't have to actually see him at all. We'll just wait inside and go up when he leaves."

Thomas reluctantly agreed to this statement, knowing that she was right; he _was_ overreacting a little bit.

The children entered the church and went to a pew on the far side to wait, Thomas still glancing around the church suspiciously. Lucie, on the other hand, was completely at ease, swinging her legs back and forth impatiently. Finally, after nearly an hour had gone by, the children decided to head up to the bell tower, carefully watching to see if anyone had seen them.

!i!i!

Quasimodo's tower was _freezing_ that day, and Thomas soon became very concerned; not only for his sister, but for his friend as well. Although a small fire had been built in the center of Quasi's loft, there still wasn't enough warmth to spread throughout the entire tower; it was just too big a space.

Lucie didn't seem to mind a bit, however, as she immediately began to play with Quasi's carvings and the buildings he had recently constructed.

Thomas watched her play, a smile on his face. Quasi followed his vision and smiled as well.

"She's such a sweet girl," he remarked. Thomas laughed.

"When she wants to be," he replied. "You should have seen her the other day, crying and carrying on so she could go to the market with Maman. She was a sight to behold." Thomas chuckled a bit at the memory, causing Quasi to smile once again.

"How is your family?" inquired Quasi politely. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Busy as usual," he remarked, sitting down in a nearby chair. Quasi followed suit, and the two boys just sat there in silence for a moment before Thomas continued. "Papa is busy with a bunch of new orders; now that winter is coming he's going to be very busy replacing everyone's shoes." He gave Quasi a wry smile. "He'll probably make you a pair too."

Quasi nodded seriously. "Well, he is the only shoemaker in Paris, well, at least according to Frollo. I-I wouldn't k-know."

Thomas frowned, always disheartened and slightly angry whenever his friend slipped into his old habits and began stuttering.

He stood up. "Come with me," he said.

Quasimodo looked up, shocked. "W-what?"

"Come with me and Lucie," said Thomas again, folding his arms stubbornly over his chest. "You can stay at our place, my parents won't mind once we introduce you. Then you could get out and see Paris and won't have to rely on _Frollo_ to give you an accurate account of the outside world."

Quasi stood up as well and began to back away from Thomas, shaking his head vigorously. "Oh, n-no! I couldn't ever leave, not now, not ever! My master-"

"Who cares?" burst out Thomas, all the frustration and anger at his friend's circumstances coming out in those two words.

"Quasi?" came a small voice. The two boys turned and saw Lucie, staring at them with wide eyes. "You know," she said shyly. "No one would want to stay cooped up here forever."

Quasi was shocked at the wise words coming from his little friend. He had never really thought about it before. He had always dreamed of leaving the bell tower, certainly, but he had never actually thought that he could ever leave. And now his friends were telling him that he could…go with them? And stay with them, away from his bell tower? It was almost too much to take in.

But he knew Lucie was right; he _didn't_ want to stay cooped up here forever.

"A-alright," he whispered. "I-I'll go."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: And, once again, an insanely short chapter! So sorry, but it would have been stupid if it had gone on any longer. It's actually part of a build up to the next chapter, which will…have to be talked about at a later date. Just a heads up; it's incredibly depressing. Yeah. _

_But, enjoy this chapter! A shout out to all who reviewed (you know who you are…)! :) _

Chapter Seven

Thomas and Lucie quickly exited the cathedral, oblivious to the pouring rain. They ran around to the back of the church and waited. Thomas still couldn't believe that Quasi had actually agreed to leave, let alone that quickly. The children had made hurried plans for Quasi to meet them behind the cathedral after a few minutes to avoid suspicion, while Thomas and Lucie waited outside.

But as the minutes ticked by and Quasi didn't come, the children began to get nervous. Then, Lucie sneezed.

Thomas immediately became very concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Do we need to go back home?"

Lucie nodded vigorously. "I'm fine," she insisted, wiping her nose with her cloak. "We need to wait for Quasi."

Thomas shook his head. "Not if you're getting sick," he insisted just as fervently. "Quasi would understand."

"But what if he comes and we're not here to show him where to go!" exclaimed Lucie, sniffling a little. "He's never been outside before, what if he tried to find us and got lost?"

In hindsight, Thomas wished with all his heart that he had insisted that they go home, or had gone back into the church, or had done _anything_ besides what they did.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "Five more minutes; if he's not down by then, we _have_ to go home."

!i!i!

Quasi was feverishly pacing, trying to decide what to do. He had agreed to go outside, to leave with his friends, and yet…he found himself paralyzed when he thought about what Frollo would do to him if he found out. All throughout the planning, Thomas had assured him that he won't, that they'd be long gone before he ever realized Quasi was missing. But still, Quasi worried.

He tried to gather his things together, all the stuff he wanted to take with him. It wasn't much, but whenever he had gathered it all together and placed it into a little knapsack, he would doubt himself and put it all back. Then he would become angry and place the items back in his knapsack, and the whole cycle would start over again.

By now he had probably wasted about ten minutes.

Quasi was angry with himself for his uncertainty, but even more _afraid_. What would he do there, on the outside? Would anybody even accept him?

He debated over this for hours and hours, until finally; finally, he made up his mind.

He would stay in the bell tower, for his own good.

!i!i!

The children had eventually gone home after waiting for nearly an hour for their friend. But as they were walking home, they were caught in a torrential downpour and by the time they had arrived home, they were soaked to the skin. Lucie was still sniffling and sneezing, and Thomas wouldn't stop fretting over her all night.

"I'm fine Tommy!" she would cry, sounding extremely stuffed up from the rain. "You don't have to fuss over me!"

It wasn't until the next morning that his worst fears had come true.

Lucie Lamont was deathly ill.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: There are no words for this. _

Chapter 8

_The next day_

Quasi was worried what Thomas and Lucie would say when- _if_- they showed up at his tower today, after he had kept them waiting like he did. He was ashamed of himself, of his cowardice, and desperately did not want to face them. But he knew he must.

But only Thomas came that day.

!i!i!

_Earlier_

The doctor had been in and out all day. Thomas had wanted to stay in the little attic bedroom with his sister, but with the doctor and both of his parents crammed in there, it would have been impossible to try and fit in another body. So he was banished downstairs to await the verdict.

He couldn't sit still. He kept pacing around the room, picking up one of his Papa's tools then putting it down. Picking up one of his carvings then putting it down. At one point, he never quite remembered when, he began to carve.

As he carved, he felt the tears of worry and frustration begin to boil over and blur his vision. Soon, he couldn't see what he was carving anymore; he just let his hands do the work until he was so tired that he fell asleep slumped over at the kitchen table.

When his Maman woke him up hours later, he looked at her with bleary eyes.

"H-How is she?" he asked, slightly hopeful.

His Maman looked close to tears. "Not good," she whispered. "The doctor doesn't think she'll make it."

Thomas, without another word, bolted from his chair, the unfinished carving still in his hands, and raced upstairs. Kneeling down by his sister's bedside, he began to cry silent tears.

Lucie just looked at him feebly, her head resting on her pillow, smiling a little. "Why on earth are you crying, Thomas Lamont?" she said weakly, before being overtaken by a severe coughing fit.

Thomas couldn't speak, too overcome. Lucie just continued to look at him, still smiling. "It's alright, Tommy," she whispered. "I'm going home."

"Don't leave me, _petit_ _oiseau_," Thomas finally croaked. "You _can't_."

Lucie giggled softly before coughing once more. "Since when have you told me what I can and can't do?"

She went to sleep then. Thomas wasn't with her when the final moment came, his Maman was. But he could feel it; feel her softly and quietly leave the earth to join the angels above. For an instant, he could almost feel her wings brush softly past him, telling him that it would be alright.

But it was _not_ alright! When his Maman told him the news, she was met with a blank, numb stare before her son roughly pushed past her and ran out into the cool night air. His Maman let him go; barely glancing at the table where he had been sitting. Perched on top of it, as if ready for flight, was a carving of a little bird. A _petit_ _oiseau_.

!i!i!

He just couldn't believe that she was gone. He felt numb for the brief instant when his Maman had told him the news, before becoming overcome with grief. He felt his world come crashing down as he pushed past his Maman and bolted out of the house, tears streaming down his face. No, _no_, _**no**_! She was not gone! His _petit_ _oiseau_ couldn't leave him, not now! Not when he needed her the most!

As he ran he could almost see her, flying on ahead of him, lighting up his path. He imagined that he could feel her feather-light touch, guiding him along the crowded streets of Paris. Thomas found that he didn't care about the peculiar looks and blatant sneers that were being directed at him; all he cared about was trying to find his _petit_ _oiseau_ and bring her back to him.

He soon collapsed, exhausted, at the entrance to Notre Dame. Of course, he wondered. Of course his sister brought him here, to the one place that she loved more so than her own home.

Then the thought struck like a sudden blow. _Quasi_. He didn't know yet. For all he knew, the children were angry at him for not coming that fateful night. Thomas felt suddenly angry at Quasi, for keeping them waiting, for causing this tragedy!

But he couldn't stay mad. It wasn't Quasi's fault; it was _his_. _He_ was the one to not take care of his sister, _he_ was the one responsible. And now she was gone.

How was he supposed to tell him? How was he supposed to tell his friend, his brother, that the one thing that had brought them together in the first place, was _gone_? That the little girl, the first person to ever show him kindness, was _gone_? The thought was almost too much to bear. He almost left. He almost ran away again, instead of having to face the burden of telling Quasi the little girl's fate. But, he thought of his friend, alone in the stained-glass prison, wondering what had happened to them, unable to see for himself. No, he couldn't leave him like that; he couldn't leave his friend in the dark.

So, with a heavy heart and a dirty, tear-streaked face, Thomas opened the cathedral doors and walked up the lonely staircase towards Quasi's tower.

!i!i!

When Quasi heard footsteps coming up to the tower, he thought at first that it must be Thomas and Lucie. He thought briefly of hiding, but that would be even more cowardly. So he decided to face them head on, no matter what they must think of him.

But, after careful listening, he could only hear one pair of footsteps. Panicking, he thought that Frollo was visiting him, until the door opened to reveal Thomas. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his friend, until upon further scrutiny he noticed that something was wrong; Thomas' clothes were all wrinkled and dirty and his eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. Quasi was instantly concerned.

"W-What happened?" inquired Quasi tentatively. "Where's Lucie?"

Thomas shook his head, not looking Quasi in the eye. "S-She…she's gone," he whispered. "It's my fault. I never, _ever_ intended to let her stay out in the rain for that long. She was my responsibility, and now she's gone. Gone…gone forever."

Quasi reeled back in shock, tears immediately coming to his eyes. _Lucie_? _Gone_? Those two words were never meant to be together, ever. They didn't make sense in a perfect world. Quasi was suddenly, sickly, reminded of Frollo's words, '_The world is a dark and cruel place. Do you see _now_ why you should never leave your sanctuary?'_

"W-Why?" asked Quasi, as it was the only question he could muster.

Thomas shook his head. "It was my fault; I shouldn't have let her stay out in the rain. Now she's _d-dead_ and it's all my fault!" He fell to his knees in grief, tears blurring his vision once more. Suddenly, he could feel Quasi's arms embrace him as the two brothers mourned over their little lost sister.

The bells were silent that night.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Could things get any worse for our heroes? _

_Yes. Yes it can. I'm sorry for the depressing-ness of this story, you totally don't have to read it if you don't want to. But I promise that it'll have a happy ending; pinky swear. _

_I apologize for the weirdness of the characters in this chapter. I couldn't get them quite to my liking, but I hope I pulled it off well enough. _

_One last thing: one time my friend wrote a really depressing story for a school assignment and she got called into the office to see if she was alright. So I felt that I should say this; yes I'm fine, no suicidal thoughts or anything. _

_There, now that that's out of the way, enjoy this next chapter. _

Chapter Nine

_Two months later_

"We're _what_?" exclaimed Thomas, nearly falling out of his chair at the news.

"Moving to the country," explained his Papa while the now much smaller family was sitting at the kitchen table. "Your Maman and I think it's a good idea. A change of scenery will do us all some good."

Thomas was shocked. He had never, ever wanted to leave Paris. Not ever! Especially with Lucie gone and Quasi alone in the bell tower…no, he didn't want to leave!

"We're leaving whether you like it or not, young man," said his Papa sternly. When Thomas just glared at him, he sighed. "I know you miss your sister, but you _cannot_ let your grief consume you and take you away from your duties. You've been slacking off from work, you haven't been going to school, you've spent hours away from home doing who knows what, and your Maman and I think it's time for a change. We'll be leaving in two days, and we want you to help with the packing whether you like it or not."

Thomas sighed. How could he tell them that he was sneaking away to see a friend, his _brother_? They wouldn't understand that Quasi was the only normalcy in his twisted, upside down world.

And now they were leaving.

He stood up, much to the surprise of his parents. "I need to go," he muttered. "May I be excused?"

His parents looked at each other in concern when Thomas, without another word, left the house and headed outside.

!i!i!

Quasi looked down at his finished carving. It was one of Lucie, one that he had started for her before her…death. He had recently come back to it, and had now finished it. Sadly, he placed it up in the bell tower with the carving of himself.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps on the stairs and a voice calling, "Quasimodo?"

He grimaced, almost knocking over his carvings. Frollo. Why, oh why did he have to come _today_?

!i!i!

When Thomas reached the cathedral he saw, to his utter dismay, Frollo's carriage sitting out front. He almost turned back, but stopped himself.

"_It's a big church, Tommy; we won't actually have to see him at all. We'll just wait inside and go up when he leaves."_

With his sister's words echoing in his mind, Thomas entered the cathedral. Once again, as he always was, he was struck with the sheer beauty and size of the church.

"Good to see you again, Thomas," said a quiet voice behind him. Thomas turned around and saw the archdeacon lighting candles, and looking at Thomas with a sad smile on his face. "How are you and your family, my son?"

Thomas almost told him everything; about the complete despair that was eating at him from the inside out. The archdeacon was so easy to talk to, so easy to trust. But he didn't want to burden the man. Besides, he had more important things to do than talk to young boys. "Coping," was all he said. "We all miss her."

The archdeacon nodded in understanding. "I can imagine. Send my condolences to your parents."

Thomas nodded. "Thank you, sir," he murmured. He turned to go but was stopped by the archdeacon's voice.

"I would advise you to not go and visit your friend for a while," said the archdeacon, who had returned to lighting candles. "He is currently…occupied."

Thomas nodded once again. "I saw, thank you, sir." The archdeacon nodded back, and continued on with his duties.

Thomas turned and began to wander around the cathedral while he waited for Frollo to finally take his leave. It seemed to take longer than usual to Thomas, when in reality it only took ten minutes for Frollo to finally emerge and exit the church. As soon as Thomas was sure that he had gone, he made his way over to the hidden stairwell and dashed up to the tower.

When he finally reached the top he saw Quasi sitting at his carving table, lost in thought.

"Hey," he called. Quasi looked up, startled, but relaxed when he saw Thomas.

"Hello," he murmured. "How are you feeling today?"

Thomas shrugged his normal Thomas shrug. "The same. You?"

Quasi looked at his carving of Lucie and sighed. "The same."

Thomas looked at his feet awkwardly. He didn't know how to tell his friend the news. How do you tell someone that you're leaving, probably forever?

"So," said Thomas. "My parents are thinking about getting out of the city for a while."

Quasi- ultimately fearing the worst- looked up in shock. "You're l-leaving?"

Thomas, feeling completely miserable, nodded and began rambling, "They just told me this morning. I don't want to leave Paris, but I really can't do much about it. I'm not quite old enough to live on my own yet, not that they'd let me or anything, they couldn't bear to lose another..." Thomas trailed off awkwardly, and waited for a response.

Quasi turned away from his friend in sadness, but mostly anger. Thomas was _leaving_. Leaving forever. Now how would he stay sane up in his tower?

"Why do they want to leave?" asked Quasi gruffly.

Thomas shrugged sadly. "I don't know. Just to get away from everything I guess. Everything here just reminds them of…Lucie."

There was silence between the two boys then. It had been the first time that either of them had spoken her name since her death, and both of the boys understood the gravity of the situation that now lay in front of them. Lucie was gone, Thomas was leaving, and there was nothing Quasi could do about it.

And it made Quasi very angry.

"So, what, you're just gonna leave me here in this drafty old tower, _alone_?" demanded Quasi, temper flaring. Thomas looked taken aback.

"Who said the fact that you're still here is my fault?" he shot back angrily. "I offered to let you stay with me, but you got cold feet at the last moment and now look what happened!"

"Oh so now it's my fault that Lucie's dead?" exclaimed Quasi.

Thomas blinked away angry tears. "No, that's my fault," he said softly. "But you're the one who kept us waiting! If it wasn't for your indecision, she wouldn't have insisted on waiting, and I wouldn't have let her stay out in the rain for so long!"

Quasi threw up his hands in frustration. "So it is my fault!"

"I didn't say that!" shouted Thomas.

"Oh, you meant it!" snapped Quasi sarcastically.

Thomas hissed in anger. "Look, I can't help it that you're stuck up in this tower! That's your own fault!"

Quasi rolled his eyes. "Right, like I can help that."

"You could leave if you really wanted to! What are you waiting for? A perfect world where everyone will accept you without question?" Thomas was nearly screaming in frustration now. "There is no such world! People just _don't_ work that way!"

Quasi was glaring daggers at Thomas now, Thomas returning the gesture. The boys just looked at each other, both struggling eternally trying to work through their feelings of guilt and grief. Suddenly, Thomas sighed and sat down on a nearby stool, his head in his hands. Quasi also slowly sat down and the two boys stayed like that for nearly an hour, just thinking.

Finally Thomas stood up. "I have to go," he mumbled sadly. Quasi stood up and offered Thomas his hand. The two boys shook awkwardly.

"Will you come back before you leave?" asked Quasi quietly, releasing Thomas' hand.

Thomas shrugged his typical shrug and sighed again. "I'll try, but I doubt my parents will let me out of their sight after the stunt I pulled this morning."

Quasi took a moment to digest this. He sighed. "I guess this is goodbye then."

The two boys just looked at each other. Thomas knew that he probably wouldn't make it back before he left, and Quasi knew that Thomas would probably never come back to Paris again. Both weren't quite ready to accept this truth, but there was no getting around it.

Suddenly, Thomas pulled Quasi into a brief, yet sincere, man-hug. "Goodbye," he said.

Quasi nodded and said quietly, "Goodbye. Good luck where ever you're going."

Thomas nodded in return. He turned to go, but stopped and said, "Hey, Quasi. Don't let Frollo keep you cooped up here forever."

Quasi could feel tears coming to his eyes as he nodded. "I'll try."

Thomas left the bell tower then.

!i!i!

_Two Days Later_

Early that morning, Thomas helped his Maman load up the last few things onto the wagon that would take them to their new home in the country. As soon as everything was loaded up and secure, he felt his Papa clasp him on the shoulder.

"I'm proud of you son," was all he said. And that was all he needed to say.

As the wagon bumped and jostled its way out of Paris, Thomas looked up towards the bell tower of Notre Dame and raised his hand in a simple farewell, unsure if Quasi could see him or not, yet still hoping that he was watching.

"Who are you waving to, Thomas?" asked his Maman, curious.

Thomas smiled; his first genuine smile since Lucie's death. "You know all those stories about the mysterious bell ringer?"

!i!i!

Quasi knew that Thomas wasn't going to make it back before he left, yet he still felt a pang of sadness and loneliness when he didn't come at all.

Yet, when he looked outside of his bell tower early that morning he thought he saw a small figure -riding in a wagon- raise its hand in a simple farewell.

Quasi smiled; his first genuine smile since Lucie's death.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Now we have caught up with the film. This takes place right before Quasi leaves to join the festival (so he's around 20 years old), and there are no gargoyles, sorry. Then the story follows Thomas a bit (he's 19), and basically covers what is happening to Thomas while the movie is taking place. Since we've all seen the movie before (I hope) I don't feel the need to go through everything that Quasi does during this time. Yeah. _

_Also, I kind of borrowed a scene from the movie. Don't kill me there really wasn't any other way to work this in. Sorry. _

Chapter Ten

_Four Years Later_

The Festival of Fools. For many years Quasi had watched the festival from his tower, longing to see and experience it for himself. But he had never had the courage to actually leave his bell tower and join the populous.

He always felt guilty whenever he would have these moments of self doubt. He never forgot his promise to Thomas to not let Frollo keep him locked away forever, but ever since Thomas left the little bit of self-confidence he had built up had slowly deteriorated until there wasn't much left. He still shied away from normal people, and Frollo still continued to terrify him to his core.

Lucie's words had remained with him; _"You know, no one would want to stay cooped up here forever." _ Quasi had thought of them more and more over the years, and as the days and weeks and months slipped by him, they had become more and more applicable.

The morning of festival had started like any other ordinary day. He had risen early and rung in the new day, then headed outside to the balcony to check on the little bird that had recently hatched. Its mother had constructed a nest for her children inside the open mouth of a gargoyle, and the rest of the babies had since left the nest, leaving one little bird behind. Quasi had been keeping an eye on it, and had been trying to talk it into flying for some time now.

"Good morning," he murmured to the bird. The bird chirped back, and Quasi smiled. "Is today the day, are you ready to fly?"

For a moment, Quasi could have sworn that the bird's chirp sounded sad. "You sure? Good day to try. Why, if-if I picked a day to fly, this would be it! The Festival of Fools!" As he talked, he gingerly lifted the little bird out of his nest, and showed him the square where people were setting up for the festivities. "It'll be fun, with jugglers, an-and music and dancing!"

The baby bird, as if sensing Quasi's excitement, started flapping its wings until it was flying in place. Quasi chuckled and withdrew his hand, allowing the bird to fly excitedly on its own. When the baby landed back in Quasi's hand, it caught sight of a flock of birds and started chirping happily. Quasi smiled.

"Go on," he said quietly. "No one wants to stay cooped up here forever."

As the little bird flew away, he suddenly thought of Lucie. He suddenly remembered what Thomas had called her all the time, his _petit oiseau_. Little bird.

Quasi made up his mind right then and there. He was going to go down there, _today_. He was going to keep his promise to Thomas and honor Lucie's memory and not let Frollo stop him from being normal.

_What if I get caught?_ He thought anxiously. Then he remembered Thomas' words to him the day that he left; _"What are you waiting for? A perfect world where everyone will accept you without question?" _

Thomas was right, he couldn't wait around for a perfect world that would never be. He would do it, he would go down there no matter the consequences.

Besides, it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, right?

!i!i!

Thomas Lamont had settled into country life quite quickly. Now, at age nineteen, he had been working his father's trade, only carving on the side for extra money. They lived far enough away from Paris that he had never been able to visit, although many of his friends did. Pierre, his best friend, went nearly every month to sell wool and buy extra supplies, but Thomas had never had the chance to accompany him. Sometimes he would ask Pierre if he had ever run into a deformed man while in town, but Pierre would only look at him strangely and answer no.

Thomas still missed Quasi, even if the pain was getting smaller and more distant. When he had told his parents the story of how he had met the misshapen bell ringer, they were shocked and a little hurt that they had never been told. But as the years past, they slowly forgot about Thomas' friend, and Quasi quickly became a distant memory in their eyes.

But Thomas never forgot. He would think of his friend sometimes, and wonder where he was and if he had ever left his tower and Frollo's control. According to the news coming from Paris, the Judge was cracking down hard on the gypsy population. The news was quite disturbing, and spoke of terrible grievances against the gypsies. Thomas was troubled by the news, and feared for his friend, but there was really nothing he could do.

Meanwhile, he had met someone. Her name was Marie and Thomas thought that she was the most gorgeous thing in the world. She was beautiful and intelligent and witty and never failed to make Thomas smile with her humorous comebacks. And the strangest thing about her, Thomas thought, was that she cared for him as well.

It was in these moments that Thomas missed Lucie, his _petit oiseau_. He always missed her when autumn came again, and sometimes he would wake up from a dream with her in it, alive and well, and would shut himself away for hours until he would later emerge with red rimmed eyes. Marie would comfort him in those times, and Thomas was eternally grateful.

The months passed and soon Thomas and Marie were married. It was a simple wedding, but to Thomas and Marie it couldn't have been any better.

Meanwhile, more stories about the atrocities in Paris filtered through to Thomas' town; stories about the Judge's obsession with a certain gypsy girl, and the disastrous and fiery results. But no matter how much Thomas worried, he couldn't leave his now pregnant wife to go to Paris to see his friend. It was too dangerous at the moment.

So he was forced to wait it out, and hope and pray that his friend was alright.


	11. Epilogue

_A/N: FINALS ARE FINALLY OVER! :D_

_We have now come to the conclusion of my little story. Thanks to all who read and reviewed along the way! It was awesome to hear such positive stuff, especially since this is the biggest story I've ever published on this site : ) So… thanks again and enjoy the final chapter of _**Petit Oiseau**_._

Epilogue

_Three Years Later _

Quasi had just finished ringing in the new day when he heard footsteps ascending the tower steps. His first thought was that Esmeralda was visiting him today, but it couldn't be. She had told him three days ago that she would be with Phoebus for the week and couldn't visit him. Then, he could make out two pairs of footsteps ascending the stairs. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door, then a voice, one that he didn't think he'd ever hear again, calling, "Quasi?"

"Thomas?" inquired Quasi incredulously. Just then, his friend came into full view. He was much older, that much was certain, having grown several inches and was now sporting a scraggly beard. He seemed much more mature than the fifteen year old Quasi had last seen seven years ago. Behind him trailed a little girl who-

_Who was the spitting image of Lucie! _

Thomas, as soon as he caught sight of his friend, hurried to embrace him. The little girl stayed back a little ways, still incredibly shy at the age of three. "How have you been my friend?" exclaimed Thomas.

Quasi grinned; it was good to have Thomas back. "A lot has happened, as I'm sure you've heard," he said. Thomas nodded happily.

"And I'm so glad you've managed to rid yourself of that _monster_," said Thomas, nearly spitting out the last word. There was a pause then, and it felt that a dark cloud had been cast over the tower.

Suddenly, a small voice said, "Monsieur Quasitoto?"

Quasi's heart warmed at that familiar mispronunciation of long ago and he smiled at the little girl. "Yes?" he replied, bending down to her level.

"Papa says that you ring bells, is that true?" she asked boldly. Quasi smiled.

"Yes indeed," he said. "Would you like to see them?"

The little girl nodded eagerly. "Oh yes please."

Quasi stood up and looked at Thomas as if to say, _well you've been busy._ Thomas chuckled and picked his daughter up.

"This is Lucy," he said with a huge smile on his face. Quasi himself broke into a wide grin and Thomas continued, "My wife, Marie, is currently at home, pregnant again." Thomas seemed to glow with joy at the thought of his second child on the way. "I decided, since everything's pretty much cooled down over here, I'd come and visit my friend. Little Lucy, over here," he tousled her long brown hair affectionately, "desperately wanted to meet you, so I convinced Marie to let her come along."

"Papa told me a lot about you," said Lucy, smiling her baby toothed smile.

"Did he now?" Quasi smiled. "All good stuff I hope."

Lucy nodded solemnly, causing both men to chuckle. She held out her little arms towards Quasi, and Thomas gently transferred her over to his friend. Quasi held her carefully, and Thomas was reminded of Quasi's gentle treatment of his sister all those years ago. Of how fearful Quasi was that he would break her if he held on too hard.

When Quasi and Lucy had come back down from touring the bells, Lucy giggling and Quasi smiling bigger than he had in a while, Thomas gave his proposition, grinning from ear to ear.

"Quasi," he began. "How would you like to come visit my family in the country?" Quasi seemed to mull over the offer as Thomas continued, rambling a little, "It wouldn't have to be permanent, but my wife would like to meet you, and I'm sure you'd like to get out of the city for a while, see something new. And I'm sure Lucy wouldn't mind you visiting either."

Lucy nodded eagerly, still in Quasi's arms. "Please come, Monsieur Quasitoto!"

Quasimodo was shocked at the sudden offer. Thomas' smile faltered a bit as he remembered Quasi's uncertainty before. _Surely, with Frollo gone, he couldn't still be afraid…? _

Suddenly Quasi's face broke into a huge smile, the biggest smile Thomas had ever seen on his friend's face. "I would love to come and meet your family."

Thomas' grin widened and he pulled his friend into an embrace with Lucy, giggling madly, in the middle. The moment couldn't have been any more perfect.

_Fin_


End file.
